Masonry Glossary

Abutment

Aggregate

Granular material consisting of normal weight or lightweight particles used with a cementing medium to form concrete masonry, mortar or grout.

AIA

See American Institute of Architects

American Institute of Architects

The American Institute of Architects is the voice of the architecture profession dedicated to serving its members, advancing their value and improving the quality of the built environment.

American Society of Civil Engineers

A society working to represent civil engineers and provide quality information and resources on technical and professional issues.

American Society for Testing and Material

A global forum for the development of consensus standards.

Anchors

Metal or strap usually made of brass, stainless steel or galvanized steel. Anchors are used to tie a wall (brick, block or stone) to another structure.

Anchor Bolts

Threaded bolt placed in grouted masonry unit opening. Used to fasten wood will, beam or other structural support to wall top.

Apprentice

Individual indenture (contracted) to a training program run by a Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATO) in the building trades.

Arch

A section of masonry work that spans an opening and supports not only its own weight, but also the weight of the masonry work above it.

ASCE

See American Society of Civil Engineers

ASTM

American Society for Testing and Material

Backer Rod

A flexible foam rod tubing either open or closed call used to maintain a constant joint design. It maintains two sided adhesion required for all proper sealant joints.

Basket Weave Bond

Module groups of brick laid at right angles to those adjacent.

Bat (Batt)

A piece of brick usually half the full size or smaller.

Bed

The bottom side of a brick or block as it has been laid in the wall.

Bed Joints

Horizontal mortar bed on which a masonry unit has been laid.

Beaded Joints

See Joints

Bevel

The incline of one surface of the same body with the angle being other than a right angle.

BIA

See Brick Industry Association

Bond

Pattern of laid masonry units; adhesion between mortar and masonry units; tying together parts of two or more wythes of masonry walls by overlapping masonry units.

Bond Stone

Stone or masonry unit that projects back from the facing wall into a backup wall. Bond stone is designed to tie the two walls or wythes together. A bond stone may not project completely through the two walls or wythes.

Boot Rod (sled runner)

A tool used to finish joints - a longer jointer with a wood handle used for bed joints.

Brick

A molded rectangular block of clay baked by the sun or in a kiln until hard and used as a building and paving material.

Brick Buggies

Carts used to covey material (palletized or packaged) on scaffolds or building floors either hand or power driven.

Brick Industry Association

National trade association representing distributors and manufacturers of clay brick and suppliers of related products and services.

Brick Set/Bolster

A tool used for cutting brick. A brick set is beveled on one side and straight on the other.

Buttering

Place mortar on a masonry unit with a trowel.

Castables

Refractory material in a hydraulic setting bind.

Caulk (caulking)

Sealing material, the process of sealing cracks around doors, windows and other cracks with a caulking gun.

Cavity Wall

A wall built in two wythes of masonry tied together with a continuous air space in between.

Cavity Wall Ties

Metal ties or bonding units used to tie together the wythes on a cavity wall.

Cell Clip

Cut brick piece or section.

Closure

Supplementary or short length used at corners or jambs to maintain bond patters.

Coarse Aggregate

Material predominantly retained on the No. 4 sieve.

Column

Vertical support member.

Compressive Strength

Another term for dead or live loads, vertical forces on a masonry structure.

Furrowing

Glazed Concrete Block

Gothic Arch

An arch with a rather high rise, with sides consisting of arcs of circles, the centers of which are at the level of the spring line. The Gothic arch is often referred to as a crop, equilateral, or lancet arch, depending upon whether the spacing of the centers are less than, equal to, or more than the clear span.

Grade

A predetermined percent of allowable imperfections for stone. Grades are used to create a scale to which stone can be sold and installed. Grade also limits the overall dimension that stone can be fabricated. The groups are granite-group A, marble-group B, marble-group C and marble-group D.

Granite

An igneous rock created deep within the earth. This rock is dense, difficult to create to final form, but is very durable.

Granular Insulation

A water-repellent or non-water absorbent fill material that pours readily into cores of masonry units or cavity type walls.

Grout

A cementitious component of highwater-cement ratio, permitting it to be poured into spaces within a masonry wall. Grout consists of Portland cement, lime and aggregate.

Hand Carts

Carts normally with two wheels which are used to manually handle or convey masonry units on the scaffold, building floors or around the project.

Head Joints

The vertical mortar joint between ends of masonry units. Often called cross joint.

Heel

Rear of the trowel blade.

Herringbone Pattern

A pattern of setting in which the units in a wall are laid aslant, instead of flat, with the direction of incline reversing in alternate courses, forming a zigzag effect. In floors of paving, the units are set at approximately a 45 degree angle with the boundary of the area being clad, alternate rows reversing direction to give a zigzag horizontal pattern, and the unit in one row filling the triangle between two units in the adjacent row.

High-lift Grouting

The technique of grouting masonry in lifts up to 12 feet.

Insulation

Material used to prevent the passage or leakage of heat, sound, etc. Comes in the form of board, granular fill or foam.

Interlock

An arrangement by means of which the functioning of one part is controlled by the functioning of another.

Jack Arch

Flat arch usually used for short spans.

Jamb

Vertical sides of an opening such as the side of a door or window.

Joints

See Illustration

Journeyman

Craftsman or tradesman who has completed and passed an apprenticeship in a trade.

Kiln

Oven for firing brick or tile.

Ladder-type Wall Reinforcing

A type of horizontal wall reinforcement. A reinforcement system.

Lateral Force

Force placed on a structure by wind or earth pressure pushing laterally against a wall.

Level

A tool for determining, or adjusting a surface to an even horizontal plane.

Lift

Height of grout (or concrete) placed at one time from one pour.

Lightweight Aggregate

Aggregate of low density used to produce lightweight masonry, lightweight mortar, and lightweight grout, and includes expanded shale, clay, slate, and slag, pumice, volcanic cinders, scoria, tuff, and the end products of coal or coke combustion.

Limestone

Formed below water and compacted this is a highly concentrated crystalline calcium carbonate (calcite) but also contains silica, alumina, iron oxide and magnesia.

Lintel

Horizontal structural unit (beam) over an opening; support member over a door or window opening.

Live Loads

A type of vertical force, forces applied by the contents and occupants of a building.

Low-lift Grout

Grout must be placed into the walls after walls reach a certain height. Building of walls may continue only after grout is in place.

Marble

A metamorphic rock formed from limestone. This stone consists primarily of calcite and dolomite. Marble is a stone formed all over the world.

Mason

One who builds or works with stone or brick.

Mason Contractors Association of America

The national trade association representing masonry contractors and suppliers in national legislative and political affairs, codes and standards composition, workforce development, education, market promotion and general industry advocacy.

Masonry

That which is built by a mason; anything constructed of the materials used by masons, such as stone, brick, tiles, or the like.

MCAA

See Mason Contractors Association of America

MIA

See Masonry Institute of America

Masonry Institute of America

A promotion, technical and research organization established to improve and extend the use of masonry.

Masonry Standards Joint Committee

An organization composed of volunteers who through background, use, and education have acquired experience in the manufacture of masonry, or in the design and construction of masonry structures.

Material Safety Data Sheets

Documents describing the known hazards associated with a material.

Miter

A joint formed by fitting together two pieces beveled to a specific angle (usually 45 degrees) to form a corner.

NCMA

Normal Weight Aggregate

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

A department of the U.S. Department of Labor to promulgate health and safety in the U.S. Establishes regulations and enforces such.

OSHA

See Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Parabolic Arch

The strongest of all arches. It has a gradual oval shape.

Parging

Process of applying a coat of mortar to masonry construction, especially used for masonry walls. Also, the cement mortar coat itself.

PCA

See Portland Cement Association

Pier

A short masonry or concrete column supporting the foundations of the floor structure in spaces without a basement. Pier may be freestanding or bonded at its sides to other masonry or concrete. A masonry column used to support a garden wall. A freestanding column.

Pilaster

A pier or column forming part of a masonry or concrete wall, partially projecting from it and bonded to it. Designed to receive joist or beam load.

Plaster

Used in interior stone installations to adhere the anchors in place as well as to fill butt jointed stone.

Plastics

Refractory brick in a plastic-like moldable consistency.

Plumb

Exactly vertical. Measured with a plumb line.

Point

Tip of the trowel blade.

Polish

A mechanical method creating a glossy smooth finish on stone. Generally marbles and granites can be polished to expose the full grain and color of the piece.

Polystrence

A tough, clear, colorless plastic material.

Porous

Materials ability to absorb water having many small openings.

Portland Cement

Fine, grayish powder formed by burning limestone, clay or shale and then griding the resulting clinkers. The result is a cement which hardens under water and which is used as a base for all mortar. Portland cement is a grade of cement, not a brand.

Portland Cement Association

The Portland Cement Association represents cement companies in the United States and Canada through market development, engineering, research, education and public affairs programs.

Prism

A small assemblage made with masonry units and mortar and sometimes grout. Primarily used to predict the strength of full scale masonry members.

Puddling

The process of settling or consolidating grout in a masonry reinforced wall to prevent the formation of voids.

Quarry Sap

The water present in block stone when removed from the ground. Quarry sap seasons out anywhere from sixty days to eight months, depending on the type of stone.

Quoin

Large squared stone or brick set at the corner formed by two masonry walls. Projects out from the corner in some cases.

Racked Joint

See Joints

Racking

Laying or stepping back each higher masonry course.

Rebar

Horizonal or vertical reinforcing bars used to reinforce a masonry structure.

Refractory

Any non-metal material or object that can withstand high temperature without becoming soft.

Reinforcing

To strengthen a structure by the addition of something to that structure.

Rock

A wide variety of natural minerals found in virgin form on or below the surface of the earth.

Roman Arch

A semicircular arch. If built of stone, all units are wedge-shaped.

S-Jointer

A shorter jointer used for head joints.

Sample Panel

A test panel designed to 1) demonstrate the quality of materials and the kind of workmanship that will be used through-out the construction period or 2) be observed throughout construction of the job for any change or damage as a result of changes in weather conditions.

Sandstone

Generally quartz based, cemented together with a high percent of silica, sandstone also contains calcium, carbonate and iron compounds, this stone generally is formed without sediment grains.

Sealant

Silicone, polyurethane or polysulphate based chemicals with elastomeric (elastic) characteristics used at various conditions in stone joints.

Segmental Arch

Similar to semi-circle arch. Segment of a circle.

Semi-Circle Arch

See Roman Arch

Shank

Connect the trowel blade to the trowel handle.

Silica

A white or colorless compound (SiO2) occurring as quartz, sand, flint, agate, and many other minerals.

Sill

Bottom of a window or door frame. Skew. To twist back or lean; to incline. Shoring Jacks. Support masonry lintels.

Sled Runner (Boot Rod)

A longer jointer with a wood handle used for bed joints.

Soft Mud Process

A brick manufacturing process using a soft brick soffit.

Span

Distance between two supports.

Spring Line

For minor arches, the line where the skewback cuts the soffit. For major parabolic arches, the term commonly refers to the intersection of the arch axis with the skewback.

Stiff Mud Process

A process through which bricks are made.

Stinger

A long cable that powers the mechanical vibrator used to consolidate grout.

Stone

Term used to discuss rock in a semi or finished form to be used in constructions or landscaping.

The Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA) is committed to preserving and promoting the masonry industry by providing continuing education, advocating fair codes and standards, fostering a safe work environment, recruiting future manpower, and marketing the benefits of masonry materials.